The greatsword thrust in, and with a downward pull, the Dung Eater was nearly sliced in two, yet he was not dead, and he gripped Throne's neck. His arm transformed into a tail, coiling tighter and tighter around Throne's neck even as it was scorched by the Frenzied Flame; yet, he could not snap the man's head off in an instant, for the burning of the Frenzied Flame was unavoidable.
"Gk..."
Huge pressure bore down on his neck, veins bulged, and his eyes protruded, yet Throne did not struggle; he simply lowered his head to look at the gaping wound and saw two things. One looked like a seed, with roots growing out and connecting to the Dung Eater's viscera, extending outward from his body. The other was like a triangular fragment, heavily wrapped in roots, pulsing like a heart.
Under normal circumstances, Throne would certainly not act rashly, preferring to make a calm judgment before deciding, but now, he cared little for that and reached out to rip it away.
"Snap."
The seed was pulled out cleanly, and a strange scene immediately unfolded. This golden-looking seed, once its roots were severed, rapidly softened and rotted, and then the dense, spiderweb-like roots began to decay rapidly from the spot where Throne had torn them. Like a lit fuse, it spread rapidly from the viscera to all parts, turning everything it touched into ash. Throne felt his neck loosen, and the arm that had turned into a tail vanished as well.
He lowered his head, and through his strange helmet, he saw only a pair of malicious eyes.
"I curse you, I curse you..."
Without another word, everything was "burning." The chunks of flesh scattered throughout the hollow were turning to ash, and in the blink of an eye, the cave seemed to be filled with a thick mist. Throne knelt on the ground, feeling little for the Dung Eater's curse.
His heart was pounding like a rollercoaster, and suddenly, he raised his fist and smashed the now-empty Omen Armor into a flat iron disc.
"Kill! Must kill!"
His blood-red vision swept across the area; madness still held the absolute upper hand. Just as he prepared to head to the surface to search for targets, a greatsword suddenly pierced through the dust.
"Clang."
The blade sparked against his arm armor, soon piercing his forearm and spraying a large amount of blood. However, Throne grabbed the blade with his hand, ignoring his palm being sliced and soaked in blood, and pulled it straight toward his chest. A massive figure was dragged over; that heavy armor belonged to none other than the Crucible Knight who had disappeared since the battle began.
"You can still fight?"
Cabine-Ivus was somewhat startled. He had intended to take the head of this mad dog while it was at its limit, but it reacted so quickly. The strength was immense, actually pulling him over. The Crucible Knight blinked, saw an iron boot enlarging in his vision, and instinctively stepped back.
"Swish—"
A high kick swept up, grazing his faceplate; before he could counter, it quickly transformed into a high axe kick that slammed down.
"Bang!"
The heel slammed into the Crucible Knight's shoulder pauldron, the force transferring to his feet, cracking the ground beneath the knight. He twisted his greatsword, intending to sever Throne's palm, but the latter had already let go a step earlier.
Throne rushed forward in a frenzy, his head slamming into the knight's breastplate. The remaining Frenzied Flame touched the latter; upon direct contact with the Frenzied Flame, even the Crucible Knight froze in place, his mind left with nothing but madness, forgetting even what he was supposed to do. However, this was not as simple as a headbutt.
Throne lunged forward, left foot hooking upward to yank the greatsword free from the Omen Armor. The blade screeched as it dislodged, trailing blood and torn flesh. His mangled hand gripped the hilt, knuckles white. Metal screamed against metal as the greatsword slammed into Cabine-Ivus's oval Crucible Hornshield. The impact drove Cabine-Ivus to one knee, the shockwave rattling his bones and snapping him back to clarity.
"What the hell am I doing?" he muttered, wide-eyed. "I'm here for the item—not to brawl with this lunatic!"
He dropped the greatsword and shoved upward with both hands, shield straining against Throne's weight. Throne staggered back, giving Cabine-Ivus a split second to act. Wings of golden light erupted from his back, scattering dust as he surged forward, low and fast, reaching for the triangular fragment.
The greatsword came down like a guillotine. It struck the fragment dead-on, splitting it in two and sending the pieces flying. Cabine-Ivus jerked his hand back just in time, but the blade was already slicing sideways again. He gritted his teeth, abandoned defense, and lunged for one of the pieces.
The air hissed.
Their paths crossed in a blur.
Cabine-Ivus's Crucible Axe Armor split open, blood pouring from his ribs. He didn't dare look back. Golden wings flared, propelling him forward. He vanished into the swirling dust, leaving only a trail of crimson behind. Throne gave chase, but after two steps, the air thickened. Frost crawled up his armor, spreading like a plague.
Blood loss. The cold. Both weighed him down. His movements slowed, dragging like a man walking through tar. He came to a halt before a petite figure standing quietly in the chaos. Ranni gazed into his murderous eyes and sighed.
"Are you done with your madness?"
She'd always known he fought like a rabid beast, but this time, he'd crossed a line. Throne didn't answer. Ice encased his body, cracking and splintering as he forced himself forward, step by agonizing step. Ranni held her ground. For every layer of ice he tore through, she conjured more, turning the hollow into a freezing vault.
His shadow loomed over her, the Frenzied Flame on his head flickering weakly. Throne raised the greatsword, the blade inching downward through the ice. The strike slowed, grinding to a halt just above Ranni's shoulder.
He was frozen solid, the Frenzied Flame extinguished. A wisp of cold air escaped the cracks in his helmet.
"So… cold…"
Ranni exhaled, tension draining from her body. She glanced at the blade hovering near her shoulder.
"Drawing a sword on me? I should've let you freeze."
"Still… gotta run," he rasped, voice trembling.
She waved a hand, and the ice shattered, collapsing around him. Throne dropped to one knee, shaking violently. Ranni, who had been indifferent just a moment ago, immediately stepped forward and steadied him.
"Are you alright?"
"Fine," he gasped, lying flat on the ground. "Next time, don't be so stubborn. Run further. Take it slow."
The physical pain was nothing compared to the mental scars. Ranni snorted.
"Retreat in front of you? Never."
Ranni snorted softly and asked urgently: "What about the Frenzied Flame? Where did you get the guts to use that thing?"
"Do you think I'm an idiot? Would I dare go mad without some assurance? This Frenzied Flame was something I devoured; I haven't established a connection with the Three Fingers. You can treat it as a consumable."
"Treating the Frenzied Flame as a consumable???"
Ranni was momentarily stunned, not knowing what to say. It was clear that Throne was not as relaxed as he claimed; the aftereffects of that frenzy still lingered in his mind, unable to fade away for a long time.
"This thing is too dangerous; does merely using it have such massive aftereffects?"
He felt as if he had developed a mental illness, his consciousness split and blurred. Cognitive impairment aside, he couldn't even clearly recall the process of the battle just now. After a good while of recovering, he suddenly snapped awake and began looking around while lying on the ground.
"You... you aren't going mad again, are you?"
Ranni quickly stepped back, summoning cold air once more.
Throne was, of course, not having another episode; there was a key point within his fragmented memories.
"No, I remembered something, something very important!"
Throne felt his condition was very strange, somewhat like a combination of mania, schizophrenia, amnesia, and other symptoms. Only by experiencing it himself did he realize that "going mad" was no joke. As a vessel, one must first experience chaos, which is commonly referred to as frying one's brain. The waters here were too deep; at the very least, Throne didn't think he could handle it.
Fortunately, his Frenzied Flame was not bestowed by the Three Fingers but was plundered, and its quantity was limited. Even without Ranni, he could slowly return to normal after it was exhausted. As for how many people he would have to kill, that would be up to fate.
"It's best to touch this thing less in the future. No, wait, now that the Frenzied Flame is exhausted, I can't touch it even if I want to."
Throne felt a strange sensation; even though he was wary of it and knew it was infinitely harmful, deep down, he deeply craved to go mad again.
"By the way, don't tell Melina about this; I'm afraid she'll overthink it."
Mentioning Melina made Ranni unhappy. She snorted coldly and asked: "Does she hate the Frenzied Flame very much?"
"It's not as simple as hate. She might be the final insurance policy to prevent the Frenzied Flame from burning the world."
"A piece laid by Marika?"
"Perhaps."
Ranni thought for a moment and decided to keep this secret for him. Although she wished Melina would stay away from Throne, she did not want to see Throne suffer from headaches even more.
"So, what are you looking for?"
"Something very important." Throne answered while lying on the ground without lifting his head. His memories were messy and incomplete, with few deep impressions, but this was one of them. The hollow was large and filled with dust.
After several minutes, he suddenly lunged forward.
"Found it!"
Ranni hurried over and saw an object lying beside a deep sword mark. It was about the size of a palm, overall presenting a strange dark red color. It was plain and unadorned, looking like trash, but upon closer observation, it didn't seem so simple.
Both of them were cautious by nature, so naturally, they dared not touch it with their hands.
"A fragment? It looks quite ancient, and there are faint energy fluctuations."
Ranni pulled up her skirt with both hands and squatted down, her face full of confusion: "What is this a fragment of?"
Throne's eyes flashed with an inexplicable luster, and he shook his head slightly: "I don't know, but I have a guess. This might be a fragment of the Ancient Erdtree, that is, the crucible of life."
"What? The crucible of life?!"
Ranni's gaze immediately turned solemn and scrutinizing. After observing it carefully, she said: "No wonder it could create such a monster. Where on earth did the Council of Six Houses get it?"
"God knows. The Lands Between has many secrets, and with their heritage, they might have had a chance to reach it. Besides, you're wrong; this fragment alone couldn't cause such a commotion."
Throne narrowed his eyes. The crucible of life shouldn't be aggressive. He vaguely remembered there was a seed on the fragment, acting like a transformer to extract the energy from within.
"Could this be simulating the growth of the Erdtree?"
His imagination ran wild, but he didn't think too deeply about it. How the Erdtree came to be was meaningless to him; rather, another matter was thought-provoking.
"In the end, a Crucible Knight jumped out wanting to pick up a bargain. His target seemed to be not me, but this thing, which is why he left so readily."
"So you mean the Crucible Knight betrayed the Council of Six Houses? Planning for so long just for a crucible fragment? Then the question arises: what is he doing with this fragment?"
"The object of his loyalty was never those nobles to begin with. As for the reason, he wouldn't be so bored as to go around collecting crucible relics, would he?"
Throne's expression grew increasingly ugly. Connecting all the previous signs, he rose to his feet instantly.
"Freeze it, let's go!"
Ranni rarely saw such an urgent expression on Throne. She quickly froze the fragment into an ice block, conjured a frost arm, stuffed it into Throne's spirit-calling ring, and floated along with the man.
"How are we leaving?"
"Melina has already seized a boat at the pier; naturally, we are leaving by boat."
Ranni was stunned; she hadn't expected Throne to have arranged the retreat so clearly. She couldn't help but feel a sense of relief.
During their conversation, the two had already floated to the surface. The fleshy spheres that had covered the entire The Shaded Castle were gone, leaving only countless ruined walls and the toxic river water that had flooded in. Ranni transformed into a phantom, floating behind Throne, looking around. Everywhere she looked was nothing but ruins; not a single person was visible.
Suddenly, she sensed a faint aura, as if someone were emitting a low roar.
"Margit isn't dead yet; he's over there."
Throne turned his head, seeing the completely collapsed main body of the castle. He felt an urge to act for a moment but forcibly restrained himself.
"No time to kill him, let's go."
He decisively gave up, blew a horse whistle, and ten seconds later, the sound of hooves came from within the "mist."
Torrent came galloping over, neighing. She was carrying Millicent on her back. The latter's clothes had many tears, but her eyes were bright and spirited, and she excitedly raised the shield in her hand.
"Teacher, 'Briar' Elemer has been killed by me!"
"Well done."
Throne had no time to praise her either. He grabbed the reins of the galloping Spirit Steed and vaulted onto its back. Afterward, a dense sound of hooves came from behind. The Nights Cavalry had arrived as well; Morgott's roar had been calling for help, and he wasn't a fool. Torrent performed a double jump onto the nearby broken city wall.
In the ruins not far away, a squad of Nights Cavalry rode past. The two sides locked eyes for a moment, then separated. Throne was busy fleeing, and the cavalry was busy protecting their charge. Neither side was confident in stopping the other, so it was better to go their separate ways.
"Torrent, to the pier, fast!"
Throne endured the intense dizziness; it was a warning that his physical and mental stamina had reached their limits. Like Margit, he had no strength left for another battle. But that wasn't the most critical thing. If the Crucible Knights were playing a long game, then there would definitely be more than one coming! Torrent seemed to sense Throne's urgency and galloped fast, her hooves lifting.
Her boots pounded the sloping path as the knight on her back twisted to look behind them. The city wall loomed, a monstrous shadow blotting out the sky—another Crucible Knight, spear gleaming, tree-like helm scanning the area. Different from the one they'd fought underground.
"Damn. Should've known you bastards were pulling strings."
Throne's voice came out a growl through his helmet. No chance in hell he'd turn back to fight. Ranni's phantom could handle a Crucible Knight, sure. Melina and Millicent too. But more might be waiting.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
The sound hit like a war drum. Millicent's fingers tightened around her katana.
"Teacher—he's coming!"
"I hear him."
Throne kept his eyes forward, scanning the port through his visor. Crates lay scattered across the chaotic pier. A single sailboat drifted from shore, sails billowing. At the stern stood Melina, dagger in hand. The spirit-caller never missed her cue.
The footsteps shook the planks beneath them now. Throne seized Millicent's wrist as she moved to dismount.
"Not your turn to die. Torrent—jump!"
The Spirit Steed surged forward, hooves cracking against weathered wood. Wind screamed past them as Torrent hit full stride, then launched—
They arced over black water. Ten meters. Twenty. Throne's shout ripped through the salt air.
"Ranni, stop him!"
As the words fell, ice fog of extreme cold had already condensed into a glittering wall across the pier. Throne turned just in time to see the winged afterimage—spear raised—slam into the barrier with a sound like shattering glass.